Help Fund A Minnesota Movie

You can help. There'll be info at the end. But first, the who/what/why.

http://www.theuptake.org/    You may never have heard of The Uptake. Or thought you hadn't. It is an amazing example of citizen journalism, so good they are the only non-commercial media allowed in the state capitol building, even having their own room next to those TV and radio outlets. Better than any of them, they are filming all the time, and broadcasting on line. Sometimes they are the only media on a story. You get the whole story, not just the 10 second sound bites. If it's politically important, they are there.

Remember the Franklin/Coleman recount battles, which kept Al Franken out of the Senate for 8 months? The Uptake was the only media there the whole time, showing the world how the count was going, assuring all of us who cared that everything was legitimate, showing us how the ballots were counted or rejected. They are non-profit. Yes, they live off donations.

They have a project in mind. They wish to make a documentary movie, using film they've shot in the legislature and at rallies, etc., showing how Minnesota went from the proposal to put anti-gay marriage into the state constitution to the actual legality of such marriages starting this week. Most of the footage is already in their archives. There will be weddings and interviews to shoot, and editing. The goal is a 90 minute documentary, which they want to send to the film festivals, and hopefully get picked up on TV. With so little left to do, the cost of the finished project is about $21,000.

We can help. They have put the project on KickStarter, a website where small contributions from a lot of people fund projects. Nobody will be charged if the money isn't raised by the September deadline. You can pick the amount of your donation. The financial part is actually handled by Amazon.com with all their security guarantees. And if you like, a $50 donation will get you a copy of the movie on DVD once it's finished. $100 can get a T-shirt added. They won't turn up their noses at smaller donations. Or bigger, either.

At the bottom is the link to their site. Please check it out. Donate. Spread the word on your own social media sites. Tell your friends. Let's show the world what Minnesota did.


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